Vol. 487 No. 1
90 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Finance the other incentive schemes, if any, which are available for the tourism industry under section 268, paragraph 1D of the Consolidated Tax Act, 1997, section 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, or any other legislation aside from the current pilot tax relief scheme for resort towns; and the amount of revenue which has been foregone by the State under these schemes in the past ten years. [3623/98]
Section 268 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 relates to capital allowances on industrial buildings. The buildings covered by paragraph 1D are buildings used as hotels or holiday camps, which are entitled to capital allowances of 15 per cent per annum and 10 per cent in year seven, and registered holiday cottages, which are entitled to capital allowances of 10 per cent per annum.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that statistics are not available which would provide an estimate of the cost of capital allowances for hotels, holiday camps or registered holiday cottages as requested by the Deputy.
Various tourism projects can gain relief under the business expansion scheme. Until 1991, when hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation were excluded from the scheme, hotels received most of the BES tourism funding. It is estimated that the tax foregone on investment in the tourism industry under the BES since 1987-88 to 1996-97 is in the region of £77 million.
